Richard Blumenthal bests Linda McMahon for Conn. Senate seat

FILE - In this May 21, 2010 file photo, Connecticut state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and his wife, Cynthia, greet the crowd at the Democratic State Convention in Hartford, Conn., after he win the nomination to run for the U.S. Senate. Blumenthal faces former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon in the Nov. 2 election for the Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Sen. Chris Dodd. (AP Photo/Bob Child, File)

With 3 percent of precincts reporting, Blumenthal had 51 percent of the vote to Linda McMahon's 46 percent.

Blumenthal, 64, will fill the seat that's been held by Sen. Chris Dodd since 1981. Dodd did not seek re-election.

Blumenthal, the state's attorney general for two decades, sold himself to voters as someone who has fought special interests on their behalf and will do so again if elected to the U.S. Senate.

He won despite an early controversy in the campaign, when he conceded he had misspoken on several occasions about his military service, saying he had served in Vietnam when he was actually statewide in the Marine Reserve.

McMahon's campaign took credit for the story, which first appeared in The New York Times, and accused Blumenthal throughout the campaign of being a liar, but the sting of the controversy waned.

McMahon, 62, was expected to have spent at least $50 million of her own money on her first political campaign, which began last fall when she left her job as the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment.

While she touted herself as a successful businesswoman who could bring change to Washington, controversies involving the WWE dogged her throughout the Republican primary and general election.